By Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register
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- Most new laws take effect July 1 — the beginning of the state’s fiscal year — unless otherwise specified.
- Some of the most notable new laws will ban drivers from holding cell phones, prohibit diversity, equity and inclusion programs and remove gender identity protections from the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
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Iowans will soon see a slew of new state laws take effect on a range of subjects from handguns to health care to fireworks.
Some of the most notable new laws will ban drivers from holding cell phones; prohibit diversity, equity and inclusion programs; and remove gender identity protections from the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
Most new laws take effect July 1 — the beginning of the state’s fiscal year — unless otherwise specified.
Some laws, such as Gov. Kim Reynolds’ restriction on cell phones during K-12 classes, technically take effect July 1 but will effectively begin when the new school year starts.
Here are 10 of the new Iowa laws that take effect Tuesday, July 1.
Gender identity protections will be removed from the Iowa Civil Rights Act
The Iowa Civil Rights Act will no longer protect Iowans from discrimination based on their gender identity beginning July 1, making Iowa the first state in the country to take away civil rights from a group it previously protected in law.
Reynolds signed the law in February. It removes gender identity as a protected class in the Iowa Civil Rights Act, which protects Iowans against discrimination in housing, employment, education and more.
Cody Scanlan/The Register.
The civil rights act, first enacted in 1965, bans discrimination based on race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion and disability.
Lawmakers added protection from discrimination based on gender identity in 2007. Those protections end July 1.
Republicans pushed to pass the law over massive protests from LGBTQ rights supporters who say the law enables discrimination. Republicans say transgender Iowans will still be protected by federal law and court precedent.
Holding a cell phone while driving will become illegal
Drivers will have to put down their cell phones when they’re behind the wheel.
After years of efforts, Iowa will join 30 other states in banning the use of cell phones or electronic devices while driving, except in hands-free or voice-activated mode.
Although the new law takes effect July 1, law enforcement will issue warnings for violations until Jan. 1, 2026.
Violating the law will be punishable by a fine of $100, up from $45. Someone who causes a serious injury will be subject to a $500 fine and and possible suspension of their driver’s license, while someone who causes a death will receive a $1,000 fine.
The law contains exceptions, including for public safety officials, health care workers responding to an emergency, utility workers, public transit workers and “a person operating an implement of husbandry” such as farm equipment for livestock.
State, city and school DEI programs will be banned
State agencies, local governments, public universities, community colleges and school districts will face sweeping new restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, known as DEI.
A new law bans state and local government entities from spending any money on diversity, equity and inclusion offices or employees dedicated to DEI, beginning July 1.
Republicans have made it a priority to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, saying they discriminate against certain groups. Democrats say DEI programs provide necessary supports for students and employees that allow them to succeed and feel welcome.
State employees will get paid parental leave for the first time
New parents working in state government will, for the first time, receive paid time off when they have a child under a new law that Reynolds made one of her priorities.
The law will now guarantee state workers four weeks of paid maternity leave and one week of paid paternity leave after the birth of a child. It also gives four weeks of paid leave to state employees who adopt a child.
Previously, state workers received no dedicated paid time off for the birth of a child — a policy that increasingly put Iowa at odds with other states in the country.
The law passed the Iowa Legislature with broad bipartisan support this year after lawmakers failed to act on Reynolds’ proposal during the past two years.
18-year-olds can buy handguns as purchasing age drops from 21
Iowans can own and carry handguns as soon as they turn 18 under a law that drops the age to buy a handgun.
Previously, only those 21 years old and older could possess pistols and revolvers in Iowa.
Iowa law already allows those who are 18 years old or older to purchase long guns, such as a shotgun or rifle.
Republicans said they changed the law in part to avoid a court challenge, pointing to several recent court decisions across the country, including in New Orleans, Virginia and Minnesota, that ruled against state laws requiring Americans to be 21 to buy handguns.
Medicaid will no longer cover gender-affirming surgeries or hormone therapies
Gender-affirming surgeries and hormone therapies for transgender Iowans will no longer be covered by Iowa’s Medicaid program under new restrictions taking effect.
Republicans included language in the state’s health and human services budget banning Medicaid from paying for surgeries and hormone therapies.
Medicaid will still cover mental health counseling to treat gender dysphoria.
From 2015 through 2024, the state and federal government spent more than $3.3 million on gender-affirming medical care for transgender Iowans through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Major medical organizations, including the American Medical Society, say gender-affirming care, including hormone therapy and surgeries, is necessary to treat gender dysphoria, which occurs when an incongruence exists between a person’s expressed gender and the gender they were assigned at birth.
It’s likely the new law could see a legal challenge. Previous efforts to ban Medicaid from covering gender-affirming care services have been struck down in court.
Local governments can’t ban shooting off fireworks on 4th of July, New Year’s Eve
Just in time for Independence Day, a new law says cities and counties cannot limit or ban Iowans from shooting off fireworks on July 3, July 4 and Dec. 31.
Des Moines has already loosened its restrictions on setting off fireworks on the 4th of July and New Year’s Eve to comply with the new law — although council members made clear they weren’t happy about it.
“We’re doing this because it’s state law and we have a duty to follow state law, not because any of us have an interest in doing this,” said council member Josh Mandelbaum.
Pharmacy benefit managers will face new regulations
Pharmacy benefit managers will face stricter regulations under a new law intended to help financially struggling pharmacies.
The law contains several provisions intended to help struggling pharmacies stay afloat financially, including requiring PBMs to reimburse pharmacies at the national average drug acquisition cost and establishing a baseline dispensing fee of $10.68 for every drug a pharmacy provides.
The law also says pharmacy benefit managers cannot prohibit or limit someone from selecting a certain pharmacy or pharmacist if that pharmacy is covered by their health insurance. And it prevents PBMs from charging different copayment amounts or providing smaller reimbursement rates at one pharmacy or another.
Pharmacists say PBMs frequently reimburse pharmacies at a rate below what it costs the pharmacy to dispense drugs to patients, forcing them to operate at a loss.
But a coalition of business groups and employer-provided health care plans are suing over the new law, saying it conflicts with federal law and violates the First Amendment.
A $1.2 billion unemployment tax cut for businesses will kick in
Starting July 1, businesses will begin to see the benefits of a tax cut on the money they pay into Iowa’s unemployment trust fund.
The law cuts in half the amount of wages on which businesses pay unemployment taxes, lowers the current maximum unemployment tax rate from 7% to 5.4% and reduces the number of tax tables.
In all, the measure is expected to reduce taxes for businesses by nearly $1.2 billion over five years.
Those taxes flow into Iowa’s unemployment trust fund, which pays unemployment benefits to workers when they are laid off.
Reynolds said Iowa collects too much in unemployment taxes and the lower rate will allow employers to reinvest money into their businesses.
Democrats say the tax cuts don’t help workers and are only possible because Republicans passed a law in 2022 that reduced the maximum number of weeks Iowans can claim unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to 16.
Election officials will gain new tools to verify voters’ citizenship
Election workers and the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office will soon have new ways of verifying voters’ citizenship status in an effort to avoid repeating the chaos leading up to the 2024 election when thousands of voters were flagged as possible noncitizens.
Beginning July 1, election workers may challenge voters at the polls on the basis of their citizenship status. That’s an addition to current law that allows election workers to challenge voters on their age and residency.
The law also gives the Secretary of State’s Office the ability to contract with “state and federal government agencies and private entities” to check voters’ records. And it requires the Iowa Department of Transportation to send the Secretary of State’s Office a list of everyone 17 years old and older who has submitted documentation to the DOT saying they are not a citizen.
If a registered voter’s citizenship status is in question, they must provide documentation affirming they are legally eligible to register and they will be designated as an active registered voter.
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